What is the capital of Malta?
Country Name | Malta |
Full Country Name | Republic of Malta |
Local - Long | Repubblika ta' Malta |
Local - Short | Malta |
Etymology- history of name | the ancient Greeks called the island "Melite" meaning "honey-sweet" from the Greek word "meli" meaning "honey" and referring to the island's honey production |
Government Type | parliamentary republic |
Capital Name | Valletta |
Capital - geographic coordinate | 35 53 N, 14 30 E |
Capital Time Difference | UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) |
Daylight Savings Time | +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Independence | 21 September 1964 (from the UK) |
National Holiday | Independence Day, 21 September (1964); Republic Day, 13 December (1974) |
Constitution |
history: many previous; latest adopted 21 September 1964 amendments: proposals (Acts of Parliament) require at least two-thirds majority vote by the House of Representatives; passage of "Acts" requires majority vote by referendum, followed by final majority vote by the House of Representatives and assent by the president of the republic; amended many times, last in 2015 |
Who is the president of Malta?
Executive Branch: |
chief of state: President George VELLA (since 4 April 2019) head of government: Prime Minister Robert ABELA (13 January 2020) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by the House of Representatives for a single 5-year term; election last held on 2 April 2019 (next to be held by April 2024); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president for a 5-year term; deputy prime minister appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister election results: George VELLA (PL) elected president; House of Representatives vote - unanimous; Joseph MUSCAT (PL) reappointed prime minister |
Citizenship Criteria: |
citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Malta dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years |
Legal System: | mixed legal system of English common law and civil law (based on the Roman and Napoleonic civil codes) |
Suffrage: | 18 years of age (16 in local council elections); universal |
Legislative Branch: |
description: unicameral House of Representatives or Il-Kamra Tad-Deputati, a component of the Parliament of Malta (normally 65 seats but can include at-large members; members directly elected in 5 multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms); note - the parliament elected in 2013 had 69 seats; an additional two seats were added in 2016 by the Constitutional Court to correct for mistakes made in the 2013 vote-counting process elections: last held on 3 June 2017 (next to be held in 2022); note - Prime Minister MUSCAT called for early elections amid corruption allegations election results: percent of vote by party - PL 55%, PN 43.7%, other 1.3%; seats by party - PL 37 PN 30; note - PN was awarded two additional seats for a total of 30 in accordance with the proportionality provisions specified in the constitution; PD candidates ran under the PN list; composition - men 57, women 10, percent of women 14.9% |
Judicial Branch: |
highest court(s): Court of Appeal (consists of either 1 or 3 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 3 judges); Court of Criminal Appeal (consists of either 1 or 3 judges) judge selection and term of office: Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court judges appointed by the president, usually upon the advice of the prime minister; judges of both courts serve until age 65 subordinate courts: Civil Court (divided into the General Jurisdiction Section, Family Section, and Voluntary Section); Criminal Court; Court of Magistrates; Gozo Courts (for the islands of Gozo and Comino} |
Regions or States: | 68 localities (Il-lokalita); Attard, Balzan, Birgu, Birkirkara, Birzebbuga, Bormla, Dingli, Fgura, Floriana, Fontana, Ghajnsielem, Gharb, Gharghur, Ghasri, Ghaxaq, Gudja, Gzira, Hamrun, Iklin, Imdina, Imgarr, Imqabba, Imsida, Imtarfa, Isla, Kalkara, Kercem, Kirkop, Lija, Luqa, Marsa, Marsaskala, Marsaxlokk, Mellieha, Mosta, Munxar, Nadur, Naxxar, Paola, Pembroke, Pieta, Qala, Qormi, Qrendi, Rabat, Rabat (Ghawdex), Safi, San Giljan/Saint Julian, San Gwann/Saint John, San Lawrenz/Saint Lawrence, Sannat, San Pawl il-Bahar/Saint Paul's Bay, Santa Lucija/Saint Lucia, Santa Venera/Saint Venera, Siggiewi, Sliema, Swieqi, Tarxien, Ta' Xbiex, Valletta, Xaghra, Xewkija, Xghajra, Zabbar, Zebbug, Zebbug (Ghawdex), Zejtun, Zurrieq |
Political Parties and Leaders: |
Alternattiva Demokratika or AD (Green Party) [Arnold CASSOLA] Labor Party or PL [Joseph MUSCAT] Nationalist Party or PN [Simon BUSUTTIL] |
International Law Organization Participation: | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
International Organization Participation: | Australia Group, C, CD, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina (observer), UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Diplomatic Representation in the US: |
chief of mission: Ambassador Pierre Clive AGIUS (since 2 March 2016) chancery: 2017 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 462-3611 through 3612 FAX: [1] (202) 387-5470 |
Diplomatic Representation from US: |
chief of mission: Ambassador G. Kathleen HILL (since 25 February 2016) embassy: Ta' Qali National Park, Attard, ATD 4000 mailing address: 5800 Valletta Place, Dulles, VA 20189 telephone: [356] 2561 4000 FAX: [356] 2124 3229 |